Coronavirus daily news updates, April 30: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the world

Studies have long shown that high school students are woefully uninformed about personal finances and how to manage them. But the COVID-19 pandemic, which revealed how many American adults live on the financial edge, has boosted ongoing efforts to make financial literacy lessons a school requirement.

Seven states now require a stand-alone financial literacy course as a high school graduation requirement, and five additional states’ requirements take effect in the next year or two. About 25 mandate at least some financial training, sometimes as part of an existing course. This year, another 20 states or so have considered setting or expanding similar rules.

Opponents of the state mandates say the requirements, while laudable, can infringe on limited time available for other high school electives and would impose costly teacher training or hiring requirements.

Nonetheless, the financial literacy courses are catching on.

“I think there’s a lot of momentum now; a lot more states have legislation in progress,” said Carly Urban, an economics professor at Montana State University who has studied financial literacy. In seven states — Alabama, Iowa, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia — “almost every school requires it,” she said, though some graduation prerequisites don’t take effect until 2023.

In the past couple of years, Nebraska, Ohio, Rhode Island and, most recently, Florida, have passed laws making financial literacy a must in high schools in the next year or two. In North Carolina, graduation requirements take effect in 2023.

Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia have had bills addressing financial literacy in the 2021-22 legislative sessions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Of those, about 20 focus on high schools.

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 U.S. Sen. Rand Paul promised Saturday to wage a vigorous review into the origins of the coronavirus if Republicans retake the Senate and he lands a committee chairmanship.

Speaking to supporters at a campaign rally, the libertarian-leaning Kentucky Republican denounced what he sees as government overreach in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He applauded a recent judge’s order that voided the federal mask mandate on planes and trains and in travel hubs.

“Last week I was on an airplane for the first time in two years and didn’t have to wear a mask,” he said, drawing cheers from the partisan crowd. “And you know what I saw in the airport? I saw at least 97% of the other free individuals not wearing masks.”

Paul has clashed repeatedly with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, over the government’s COVID-19 policies and the origins of the virus that caused the global pandemic.

Paul, who is seeking a third term this year in Kentucky, said he’s in line to assume a committee chairmanship if the GOP wins Senate control after the November election. The Senate currently has a 50-50 split, but Democrats have the slim edge because Vice President Kamala Harris is a tie-breaking vote.

“When we take over in November, I will be chairman of a committee and I will have subpoena power,” Paul said. “And we will get to the bottom of where this virus came from.”

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As people start to venture out, Ashley Perkins might be struggling more than most. For years she had been living life relatively large despite her agoraphobia, until pandemic constraints shrank her world to the drive between work and home. “This is by far worse than even before I was diagnosed in 2008,” the 38-year-old pharmacist said.

The anxiety disorder, which affects about 1% of U.S. adults and is more common in women, is frequently associated with a fear of leaving the home. But the core issue often is an underlying panic disorder that can first flare in a place seemingly routine, such as the grocery store, said Sally Winston, a clinical psychologist and executive director of the Anxiety and Stress Disorders Institute of Maryland in Towson.

“Agoraphobia is the fear of having a panic attack in a place or situation in which you feel trapped or unable to get to safety,” Winston said. That first panic attack with its surge of adrenaline, rapid heartbeat and other symptoms can feel physically overwhelming, “like a traumatic catastrophe,” she said, and makes people retreat to a perceived safe space, often their home.

Agoraphobia can’t be diagnosed until someone has experienced at least six months of symptoms, severe enough to affect daily life. So, it’s too soon to know whether the ongoing pandemic has amplified rates of the anxiety disorder, mental health clinicians say. But some worry that months of limited exposure to the rigors of daily commutes, crowded malls and other activities might have seeded new cases, as well as worsened symptoms in those individuals already diagnosed.

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China’s manufacturing activity fell to a six-month low in April as lockdowns continued in Shanghai and other manufacturing hubs in an attempt to stem COVID-19 outbreaks, according to a survey released Saturday.

The monthly purchasing managers’ index, released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics, fell to 47.4 in April, down from 49.5 in March on a 100-point scale. Numbers below 50 show activity contracting.

The domestic COVID-19 outbreaks have impacted China’s factory activities and market demand, said the bureau’s statistician Zhao Qinghe.

Some enterprises have reduced or stopped production, with disruptions in logistics as well as the supply or raw materials and components.

Shanghai, China’s most populous city, spent weeks in April under lockdown. The capital, Beijing, began mass testing millions of residents this week.

In the northeast, authorities in Changchun and Jilin also spent most of April in lockdown, forcing automakers and other factories to shut down. Other smaller Chinese cities have also faced citywide or district lockdowns.

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Restaurants in Beijing have been ordered to close dine-in services over the May holidays as the Chinese capital grapples with a COVID-19 outbreak.

Authorities said at a news conference Saturday that dining in restaurants has become an infection risk, citing virus transmissions between diners and staff.

Restaurants have been ordered to only provide takeout services from Sunday to Wednesday, during China’s Labor Day holidays.

Beijing began mass testing millions of residents earlier this week as it scrambled to stamp out a growing COVID-19 outbreak.

The political stakes are high as the ruling Communist Party prepares for a major congress this fall at which President Xi Jinping is seeking a third five-year term to reassert his position as China’s unquestioned leader.

Beijing authorities reported 67 new infections on Saturday, taking the city’s total to nearly 300 since April 22.

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Mask mandates would no longer be allowed in Kansas under a bill the Legislature sent to the governor’s desk Friday.

The state would bar any public officials — including state and local governments, schools and health officials — who are looking to protect the public in the event of a new COVID-19 spike or other public health emergency.

The Kansas House and Senate narrowly approved a bill early Friday morning, crafted by senators in response to safety measures enacted during the pandemic. In addition to banning mask mandates, the bill removes the Kansas Department of Health and Environment secretary’s power to have law enforcement carry out quarantine orders.

“Kansans have asked that we put guidelines in so that this doesn’t happen again,” said state Sen. Kellie Warren, a Leawood Republican running for attorney general.

Both chambers fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a gubernatorial veto. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly hasn’t commented on the legislation but has consistently supported retaining the power of state and local health officials.

In the summer of 2020, Kelly issued a statewide mask mandate, which local counties were permitted to opt out of. A University of Kansas study found that the counties that required masks saw slower rates of infection and hospitalization throughout the summer surges.

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Last summer, Instacart had a rough reality check. After a year of explosive, pandemic-driven growth for its grocery delivery business, people were returning to grocery stores. Sales slowed. New customers were harder to find. It could have been the kiss of death for a startup that expected to grow very fast.

So Apoorva Mehta, Instacart’s co-founder and CEO, asked Uber and DoorDash, two top competitors, if they were interested in acquiring or partnering with his company, said eight people with knowledge of the talks. Nothing came of the discussions, and in early July Mehta said he would leave the top job at his company but stay on as chair.

The tumultuous summer set the stage for Instacart’s current uncertainty as it tries to avoid becoming another pandemic boom company that has fizzled, like Peloton or Zoom. Mehta’s successor, Fidji Simo, a member of Instacart’s board and a former executive at Facebook, has to lead the company against competition that has become tougher since the pandemic started. She also has to manage skeptical investors who have been waiting at least four years for Instacart to go public.

When that will happen became murkier last month when, in a rare move, Instacart said it was slashing its valuation by 40% to $24 billion, citing the “market turbulence” that has roiled technology companies. In addition, top executives have left, including two presidents, one of whom resigned after just three months.

Instacart faces tougher competition from its gig economy peers, as well as from new instant delivery startups like Gopuff and grocery chains’ own online services. Revenue was still growing last year, but not nearly as fast as it did in 2020. Sales growth also slowed sharply, to 15% last year from 330% in 2020, according to 1010data, a market research firm, while the average size of each order shrank, the company said.

In a recent interview, Simo said she had a plan to tackle those challenges. She has a new vision for the business that includes selling software to grocers and selling more ads inside the app, where people place their orders. Read the full story here.

No one loves the ping-pong table at Rhombus Systems’ Sacramento office as much as Wallace.

One ear is always listening for the “tap tap” sound of the ball bouncing back and forth. The sound prompts him to race to where the table is located, burst through the door and enthusiastically run along the side of the ping-pong table as the game is played at the office of the security systems company.

If Wallace could, he’d do this all day, say workers who have witnessed his obsession with ping-pong.

Wallace isn’t a worker at Rhombus, but a 2-year-old border collie who frequently goes to the office a few days a week alongside his dog mom, Natalie Secco, since the office became pet-friendly during the pandemic.

“Once he figured out that people bounce the ball back and forth, he had to be in the [ping-pong] room,” said Secco, Rhombus Systems’ director of sales, adding that Wallace hangs out by her desk and is always hoping someone will toss his ball across the room.

As offices start reopening and thousands of workers are being called back for the first time in two years, some companies are allowing employees to bring their pets. About 23 million American households adopted a pet during the pandemic, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Many workers say they find pet-friendly environments an important perk for their new furry family members. A recent survey conducted by Banfield Pet Hospital, owned by Mars Inc., showed that 57 percent of the 1,500 pet owners polled said they would be happiest returning to a pet-friendly workplace. Half of the 500 top executives surveyed said they are planning to allow pets at the office. Tech companies including Google, Amazon and Uber plan to continue to allow dogs at their offices, even with their flexible office policies.

But the move is causing a mixed reaction among workers: some are happier and more productive with their furry animals by their side, while others are annoyed or have quit their jobs due to allergies or a phobia.

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Even with nearly 80% of Californians at least partially vaccinated, hospitalizations down from their highs and eased mask mandates, COVID-19 safety protocols on Hollywood film and TV sets are unlikely to go away soon.

An alliance of major studios and entertainment industry unions are once again at the bargaining table to renegotiate the so-called return-to-work agreement — the terms for working during the pandemic — that expires April 30.

Some people close to talks say they are expecting current measures that have suppressed outbreaks and shutdowns to remain . Moreover, most production insurance still excludes coverage for COVID-19 related losses and the vast majority of filming is going ahead regardless, said John Hamby, National Entertainment Practice Leader at Risk Strategies.

“That’s not going to change in the foreseeable future,” Hamby said. “A lot of producers out there are still taking extra steps and precautions, because no producer wants to have a film shut down.”

The easing of the pandemic presents the film and TV industry with a challenge. The protocols have kept outbreaks on set low, but they have slowed down production and added costs.

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Airbnb guests who cancel their reservation because of a coronavirus infection will no longer be eligible for a refund. The short-term rental company announced the move, which goes into effect May 31, in a blog post Friday that explained updates to its “extenuating circumstances” policy.

Under that policy, guests who contracted the virus were allowed to cancel and get a refund, and hosts could cancel reservations without a penalty. After May 31, circumstances related to COVID-19 – including a guest or a host getting infected – will no longer be covered.

Airbnb said in the blog post that the time was right to make the change as a result of a “new way of living” since the pandemic began. Hosts’ typical cancellation policies will apply after the policy change.

“As we’ve seen the heroic effort of health authorities and medical advancements around the globe, almost two thirds of the world’s population have received at least one dose of a vaccination against COVID-19,” the company said on its website. “And many countries have now implemented living with COVID-19 plans, as it becomes part of our world.”

Cancellation policies on the platform vary by host. Airbnb said almost two-thirds of active listings offer “moderate” or “flexible” policies – though none of those options provide refunds for last-minute cancellations.

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Several districts in Shanghai put up metal barriers last weekend as part of the city’s battle against a COVID-19 outbreak, in a move that drew protests and anger from some residents.

Workers in white head-to-toe protective gear erected mesh wire fences and metal sheets to block off roads, residential communities and even the entrances of some apartment buildings. A majority of the city’s 25 million residents had already been prevented from leaving their homes during a month-long lockdown, though some neighborhoods have since opened up.

The barriers are deployed to ensure control over movement and often leave only a small entrance that can be easily guarded.

The barriers are new to Shanghai but have been deployed throughout the pandemic in other cities across China. For example, early in 2020, some neighborhood committees — the lowest rung of local government — erected metal sheets and fences in parts of Beijing to control access points to homes. Wuhan, where the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in December 2019, also erected metal barriers across the city.

How they have been deployed varies. Sometimes the government sets up fencing around entire neighborhood blocks, leaving just one or two entrances. In other cases, they build fences in front of individual residential complexes.

The fencing has been widely deployed in border regions as well, including in Suifenhe, a city in the northeast that borders Russia. The metal barriers there block off entire streets.

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A school system in suburban Kansas City is eliminating over 100 jobs, including kindergarten aides and library clerks. Oakland, California, is closing seven schools. Other districts around the country are merging classrooms, selling buildings and leaving teaching positions unfilled in order to close budget gaps.

Public school systems are beginning to feel the pinch from enrollment losses tied to the coronavirus pandemic.Money for schools is driven partly by student headcounts, and emergency provisions in many states allowed schools to maintain funding at pre-pandemic levels. But like the billions of dollars of federal relief money that have helped schools weather the crisis, those measures were not meant to last forever.

In Olathe, Kansas, where the school system is cutting 140 jobs, Deputy Superintendent John Hutchison said the extra federal money merely put off the inevitable.

Now it is trimming millions of dollars from its budgets because enrollment, having peaked at more than 30,000 students in fall 2019, fell by around 900 in the first full school year of the pandemic. Less than 100 of those students have returned.

Families opting for homeschooling, private schools and other options sent enrollment down sharply in the first full school year of the pandemic, and generally it has been slow to recover.

Between fall 2019 and fall 2021, school districts across Washington state saw enrollments decline by 3.5%, with some districts seeing steeper drops than others, according to The Seattle Times. At the same time, the state’s home-schooled population ballooned, nearly doubling during the first full school year of the pandemic, 2020-21. 

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Much of Washington, D.C., is ready to party like it’s 2019, before the coronavirus, when the biggest risk at the annual White House press corps gala was more likely to be jokes that ruffled too many political feathers.

After the pandemic nixed the event in 2020 and 2021, the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner returns Saturday night, with Joe Biden as the first sitting president to attend in six years after Donald Trump shunned it while in office.

Comedy is also back, with “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah as headliner. Celebrities are, too: Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson are expected to turn up, and the Funny or Die comedy studio is co-sponsoring an after-party. The event also draws a large swath of government officials and other prominent figures.

“Seeing the president of the United States come back, and the dinner come back, I think signals more than a pause in the pandemic,” said Harold Holzer, author of the book “The Presidents vs. The Press.” “We’re safe to talk to each other again.

“I think this relationship — even if it’s a one-night thing where witticisms are exchanged and people make fun of others and each other — it’s a very healthy thing.”

Read the full story here.